


Keep This Love In A Photograph

by orphan_account



Category: Hamilton - Fandom
Genre: Alexander Hamilton - Freeform, College AU, Cuddling, Fluff, John Laurens - Freeform, Lams - Freeform, M/M, alex is a chemistry major, i didn't write a sad fic for once who's proud of me, john is a photographer, this whole thing was super soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:17:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Alexander Hamilton never thought he'd step out of the chemistry lab. Until he suddenly found himself in a photography studio with a boy who's smile was brighter than the sun.





	

Alexander Hamilton wasn't much of a talker, but that didn't mean he didn't have a lot he wanted to say. In fact, his mind was always filled to the brim with chemistry. Alexander was a chemistry major at Livingston University in New York. Well beyond his years, too. He was in the lab every day he could be, asking his professor for extra assignments and spending time reading his textbooks to find different expierements he could test. He never ran out of expierements and ideas, always thinking of what would happen if he'd mix certain things together. In fact, he spent more time in the library and the lab than he did his own dorm. Even then he didn't get sleep, he was such a workaholic that his old roommate transferred out of their room since he couldn't put up with him. He got a new roommate instead, which Alex ended up liking much better. His name was Hercules, but he normally just went by Herc. Herc was a political science major, but he was a hell of a cook too. It was nice having "home" cooked meals every now and then. He was sick of ramen noodles.

It was 3am when Herc stirred out of his sleep. He rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands and turned his head towards Alex. Alex was sat up in his bed, his face outlined with the glow from his laptop screen. 

"Alex... why are you still up?" Herc grumbles, his voice groggy from sleep. 

Alex jumped a bit, dazed as he looked over at Herc,

"Oh just... I have to finish this lab report. I just go to the bit where I'm explaining how I got a carcinogenic compound extracted from a mixture of 7 different carcinogens. I want to see if it will work the same way with foods and such because if they do.. I might've just found a way to cure certain types of cancer." 

"Holy shit Alex..." Herc sat up slowly,  
"I knew you were smart, but I didn't realize you were a fucking genius." 

Alex grinned and blushed a bit, 

"Ah come on Herc, go back to sleep, i'll annoy you with my brains in the morning."

Herc laughed, pulling the covers back over him,

"Get some sleep Hamilton." 

"Don't worry about it, I will." Alexander saved his work and shut his laptop off. He would actually get some sleep that night.

-

Alexander sat in the dorm commons, tucked into the corner. A mug of coffee in his hands and his computer on his lap. His brown coat and tartan scarf clung to him tightly. The central heating system had broke at 8 in the morning, snapping the entire dorm into a cold frenzy. The commons had a small fireplace, so Alex kept himself there. He hadn't booked the lab until noon and it was still only 10am. He worked extensively on his paper, which already had reached 22 pages. His professor was going to murder him when he had to read all of that.   
Maybe he could just make some smores in the lab today. 

"Excuse me..." 

A shadow appeared over Alex, making him jump a bit. He took his earbuds out and looked up at the boy towering over him. His curls framed his face which had freckles covering his dark complexion like constellations in the sky. The boy wore a red, woolen coat that went down to his knees, black jeans and black boots. His hands held a notebook and a pen, and there was a black camera strapped around his neck.   
Alexander was in a trance. 

"I'm John Laurens, I work with the school newspaper. I was wondering if you know where I could find an Alexander Hamilton? His professor begged me to run an article on him, apparently he's a genius." the boy beamed brightly.   
A flush came to Alexander's face as he set his coffee mug on the floor next to him,

"Well Mr.Laurens, you won't have to go very far to look for him, you're looking right at him." 

John's eyes grew wide, 

"Oh! Goodness, it's a pleasure to meet you Alexander!" He sat down in front of Alex, resting his notebook on his knee. 

"It's nice to meet you too John, I didn't even know we had a school paper..."

"It's kinda a new thing really... we just started it this year. I only originally joined to take pictures but there wasn't enough interest so we ended up not having enough writers. So now I do both." He shrugged, his fingers absentmindedly picking at the carpet beneath him. 

"You take pictures? Do you do it professionally or just for fun?" Alexander asked, wanting to know more about John. 

"Hopefully one day i'll get to do it as my profession. I'm a photography major and, I hope i'm not coming off too strongly, but you're extreamly beautiful, it would be an honor to take pictures of you." 

Alexander's eyes widened and his cheeks once again grow rosy.

"John..." he said shyly, his eyes trailing down to the ground. 

John was blushing too, but he kept his eyes fixated on Alexander. 

"It's a fact Alexander, not even science could deny it." 

Alex laughed, throwing his head back.   
His cheeks hurt from smiling. 

-

John trailed behind Alex as they crossed campus to the lab wing. It was never a place John had to go to. In fact he rarely even walked on this side of campus. He always stuck to the art centers. 

He couldn't help but be awestruck by Alexander. He just figured that someone with such high educational prestige would've been cocky and arrogant. Instead, Alex was one of the kindest people he had ever met. Not to mention, he was cuter that john could even find words to descibe. He wanted to take pictures of him. Not just for the paper, but for a photography project. He wanted to show him off, every dazzling aspect of him. 

"John?" Alexander stopped walking, and John, still dazed, bumps into him. 

"Oh, i'm sorry... was just.. daydreaming." 

Alex laughed,

"You're amazing, you know that? Genuinely, I've just met you and you've been so sweet to me." he leaned against the wall of the building, clutching his books to his chest. 

John grinned and stepped closer to him,

"Alexander I do believe the sweetest one here is you." 

"Shhhh." Alex giggled and pressed his finger to the tip of John's nose. He held his finger there for a moment as John's eyes crossed to look down at it. Alexander slipped quickly past John and turned towards the doors. John followed behind him. 

He stopped outside of a set of glass doors. Taking out his student card, he slid it through the card reader. 

"You're gonna need these babe, I don't want you getting hurt." Alex said, passing him a pair of goggles. John watched as Alex pulled his on, instantly noticing the little indents they were making in his cheeks and forehead. John couldn't help but smile. He looked so professional.   
John slid his on as well.

Alexander led him through the doors and into the laboratory. There were storage cabinets everywhere, chemicals John couldn't even name, beakers and flasks too. John started taking photos right away. It reminded him of his high school chemistry class.

"Will you teach me about all of this? The more I know, the more I can write."

"Oh, yeah! See, if you take this flask- it's filled with a mixture of h-"

John slipped into a deep focus. Everything Alexander talked about was so fascinating- even if John didn't understand some of it. He took pictures, more than he would ever need, but he couldn't help it. He was fascinated. Alexander was so dedicated to his work.

John really wanted to kiss him.  
He wanted to see the stars that shined in his eyes. Alexander stepped back from the lab desk and slipped his goggles off. 

John giggled and Alex looked at him, confused.

"You've got some goggle marks around your eyes. it's cute" John smiled. Alex looked at him, embarrassed. 

"Are they bad" he asked softly, fingers proding at his face. 

"Not at all, they look very cute, my little nerd" John stepped close to Alex. He moved both of Alex's hands off of his face and replaced the with his own, softly tracing the red indentations on his cheeks and forehead. Alex let his eyes flutter shut.

"You know Alex, I'm absolute shit when it comes to chemistry. But i've gotta say, you must be made of copper and tellurium because you're so damn cute."

Alexander's eyes crew wide. 

"..Did you just use a chemistry joke to call me cute?" 

Alexander's voice was shaky. John was incredible, he could barely think straight around him. That was saying a lot. He instantly got lost every time he looked at his eyes. They had little golden flecks. Stars. Alexander wanted to map them into constilations. He wanted to grab John's hands and pull him close and tell him that he loved him. He wanted that so bad.   
As Alexander looked up, John was standing right there. Those feelings surged through the both of them. 

It was inexplicably quiet in the room. They could hear each other's breathing. That's all they needed. They were both there, beautifully existing infront of each other. 

"Alex?" John spoke quietly, finally breaking the silence. 

"Yeah John?" 

"Do you... maybe... want to go on a date with me sometime?" 

"It would be an honor." 

John reached down and grabbed Alexander's hand. They intertwined their fingers and John kissed Alex's nuckles. He never thought he'd be so lucky. 

-

Alexander jumped on top of his sleeping roommate. 

"Guess who has a date." Alexander said in a sing-song voice. 

Here grunted, talking into his pillow,

"What's his name?"

"John Laurens, and, Herc, he is incredible. He has this gorgeous curly hair, and his freckles, his FRECKLES I want to count all of them. He's a photography major and he promised me he'd show me some of his work. I bet it's gorgeous H-... Herc?"

Alexander was cut off by soft snores. He laughed and rolled off of him. He left their room again and went to get more coffee. He was secretly hoping that, by some off chance, he'd run into John. He just wanted to see him again. He wanted to see his gorgeous face and stunning smile. He wanted to feel butterflies in his stomach again. John always conjured those up. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. 

Alexander was so in love with him. 

He walked around his dorm building, coffee in hand. He hated waking up Herc, and if going back into their room meant he'd wake up again, he wanted to avoid it at all costs. 

It wasn't rare for him to take walks. He loved to walk through the quiet and just think. This time was a bit different. He wasn't thinking about chemical or formulas. He wasn't imagining what the perfect chemical combination might be. He thought about John. Every aspect of him. The way his jacket had clung to his waist, the tiny smile on his lips whenever he was taking photos. Even the amazement in his eyes when he walked into the lab earlier. His expression was so pure. Alexander hoped that John would show him the photography studio. He wanted to see where all of his creativity was released. Hell, John could be taking pictures of the wall and Alexander would still think it was the most fascinating thing ever. Everything about John was fascinating. 

Alexander's knuckles still tingled from where John had kissed them. As if, little butterflies had landed there and claimed the territory. Alex didn't mind it at all, in fact. He loved it. He loved the way John's touches made him feel.

-

It was inevitable that the pair couldn't be apart for a week. They saw each other the very next day. As promised, John pulled out his portfolio. He handed it to Alexander and sat down next to him on the bed. 

Alex's jaw dropped. 

"John... these are... shouldn't these be in a museum somewhere?" he said breathlessly, thumbing through the photos. 

John shook his head and smiled,

"Nah, my stuff isn't anything special." 

"Hell no, John these are incredible! The emotion in everyone's faces is so raw... the focus.. I love these. This one... this one has to be my favorite."

He stopped on a picture of a little boy. His hair was a bright blonde and he had chocolate smeared all over his face.

"That's one of my younger brothers... Eli." His eyes were shining as he looked at the picture. He looked so proud that he was his brother. 

"One of? How many siblings do you have?" 

"Six.. Four girls, two boys..." he took the stack of photos and pulled one out. Six kids that looked much younger than him smiled widely at the camera,

"That's Claire, she's 7. Zach, 14 and gets into way more trouble than he should. Eli is 2, cutest little bug you could imagine. Hannah and Lee are twins.. 10 now. Ben and Noah are twins as well but they're 17." 

Alex looked from the picture to John,

"I bet you're the best big brother ever. They probably love you so much." 

"Ever since dad passed... they rely on me so much. I'm not complaining, I love, I love them all dearly. Just.. I wish I could've do better for them." 

John slipped the photos back into the case he had them is and moved them over to the side. He turned back, only to have Alex move extreamly close to his face. 

"Don't you ever doubt yourself, even for a second. You're gorgeous and kind and I know you're the best older brother ever. I wish I could see you with all of them. I bet you look so fucking cute with kids-"

"Alex just shut up and kiss me."

So he did.

It had been a long time since Alex had kissed someone. The last one had been a drunken mistake. He still doesn't know who the guy was.   
But he kissed John. He kissed him and kissed him and kissed him as if his life depended on it. Like his lips were an oxygen supply and he was short of breath. He didn't want to move, neither did John. So they stayed there, pulled away from the rest of the world and just concentrated on each other. There was no where else either of the wanted to be. The world could come crashing down around them and they wouldn't even notice. 

-

It had been a month since their first kiss. There had been millions since then. It was a good way to get Alex to shut up too. Alex would happily shut up at any moment just to kiss him. He perfected kissing to talking. It was like a silent little symphony. A symphony only they could hear. And they loved every moment of it.

Alexander sat on one of the stools in the photography room. John sat next to him, patiently cutting apartment his film strips. He has spent the last week photographing Alex whenever he wouldn't notice. Alexander wanted to see them so badly. 

"C'mon baby girl, I'll show you the dark room." He grabbed his film and Alexander's hand and pulled him to a dark hallway. They passed through a few sets of curtains until John came to an abroupt stop.

"So when you said darkroom..."

"Your eyes will adjust eventually, don't worry, I've got you." He lead him over to the other side of the room and set his hand down on something. A light suddenly clicked on and Alexander squinted. 

"How come that light can be on but the main lights can't?"

"This one won't expose the chemicals."

"There's chemicals?" Alexander's voice was suddenly excited. John laughed,

"Yes baby there's chemicals, you put the paper in them and the pictures appear. I'll let you try it if you'd like to." 

Alexander smiled wide,

"You know i'd love to." 

John showed him first. Alexander watched in amazement as his face appeared on the once blank picture. He was laughing in that one. He had a huge grin plastered on his face, his eyes crinkled shut. He usually never liked pictures of himself. This one was different. Maybe it was the capture of a raw emotion, maybe it was the fact that his John had took it. No matter what the reason was, he loved it. 

He watched intently as John moved it through the different chemical baths. He couldn't believe that his boyfriend worked with chemicals too. It was the cutest thing in the world to him. 

Then it was his turn. 

John exposed a different photo and handed it to Alex. He lead him through the steps, watching happily as he watched the boy he loved the most do the thing he has such a deep passion for. He couldnt help but fall in love with him a little more.

Alexander grinned as he took it out of the water. He looked at the photo. He had never seen himself look so happy in so many pictures. Deep down, he knew what it was. He had felt happier ever since he had met John. He put the picture back in the water and went over to John. He stood behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist, and buried his head into his back.

"Something wrong baby?" John asks softly.

"No no no, you're jus' comfy is all." he says, contently.

"We can go somewhere more comfortable if you want princess, we don't have to stand here." 

John had never called him princess before. It made him blush, 

"Can we get some hot chocolate and then go to my dorm?"

"As long as we can get marshmallows in the hot chocolate."

"Is it really hot chocolate if there's no marshmallows?" 

-  
They were cuddled up in Alex's dorm. Alex was between John's legs, laying back against his chest. His hot chocolate was clutched in his hands an der he drank it slowly. John's arms were wrapped around his waist.

"Tomorrow I have something special planned for us." John smiled, rubbing small circles into Alexander's belly. 

"Is it a surprise or can you tell me?" 

"I want it to be a surprise, I think you'll really love it." He kissed the top of his head, making Alex smile,

"As long as i'm with you I know I'll love it." 

"Oh hush, you're so fucking cute, did you know that? Everything you do, everything you say. It's all unbelievably adorable." 

Alex's cheeks went pink as he blushed. 

The door to the room clicked open, making both of the boys turn their heads. 

Herc walked in, humming to himself,

"Oh! Hi there, Alex I didn't k ow you were bringing John over, I would've tried to look a little better."  
He looks down and his sweatpants and sweatshirt.

"Don't worry about it, you look perfectly fine. You're Hercules right?" John says, still absentmindedly running his fingers over Alex's stomach.

"You got that right. You're John, I only know that because your boyfriend never shuts up about you. It's rather cute, actually, thank you for making him so happy." 

John laughed, 

"It's an honor to be able to see him smile, and to be the cause of it."

"Do you love birds want me to leave? I can spend the night at a buddy's room."

"Herc you can stay." Alex chimed in. 

Neither of them minded. 

They all got to know each other until Herc fell asleep. Which actually didn't take very long. 

"I think I should be heading back to my dorm baby girl, it's getting late." John said, running his fingers through Alex's hair. 

"You can't spend the night?" Alex asked sadly. 

"Do you want me to?"

Alex just nodded his head quickly. 

He let out a yawn, which made Alex giggle,

"I think we should get some sleep sleepyhead."

John agreed to that. He readjusted and let Alexander wiggle back into his arms. John couldn't wait for tomorrow, but at the moment there was no where he would rather be.

-

Alexander had stayed clung onto John all night. Which John was thankful for because Alex was incredibly warm. 

But today was the day.

He had set up a little surprise for Alex off in one of the campus fields. He couldn't wait to see his expression.

"Alex baby.. wake up it's time for your surprise." John spoke softly. Alex let out a tired moan and let his eyes flutter open.

"Well that's a sight I can get used to waking up to." Alex said, sleep still strangling his voice. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

"I'll let you get dressed, I'll just have to wear these again." 

"Wait, you can stay here, I don't mind just... cover your eyes." 

John shut his eyes tight as Alex got ready. Even though he wanted to look, he wanted to respect his wishes as well. When Alex was finally dressed, John grabbed him by the hand and pulled him outside. They ran the whole way there.

John finally came to a stop in front of a giant pile of leaves. He looked over at Alex, who's eyes were basically glittering with excitement. 

"No way... John... how did you plan this?"

"Let's just say, I might have a friend who's a grounds keeper." he smiled and Alex jumped up into his arms. 

"You are literally the best boyfriend ever, hands down. I'm so fucking lucky. I don't know what I can ever do to repay you and thank you enough for this."

"You don't have to thank me, just have fun princess. That's thanks enough." he was smiling even louder now. 

Then he threw himself and Alex into the leaves. 

The pile englufled them, their laughter only slightly muddled. John was grinning his crinkles around his eyes grin that Alex adored so much. He couldn't believe it. His favorite thing to do growing up was jumping in lead piles. But now, now there would be new memories, better memories associated with it. There were leafs all over his face, in his hair, in his clothes. But he loved it. He clings onto John harder and kissed him,

"I love you, my prince. I love you more than words can describe."

"I love you princess."

Alexander never wanted to leave that moment.


End file.
